Q&A with Natalie Sambhi and Nic Jenzen-Jones, editors of Security Scholar

Interviewed by Roselina Press

Security Scholar is an Australian website which covers security, defence and foreign policy issues concerning Australia, Southeast Asia and Afghanistan. Natalie Sambhi, the website’s founding editor, is a Hedley Bull Scholar in International relations and a Masters graduate of the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University. Co-editor Nic Jenzen-Jones is a freelance writer and a corporate liaison specialist for the private security and defence industries.

For those who haven't heard of Security Scholar, could you please tell us a bit about it?

Nic: Security Scholar is a website dedicated to analysing global security and defence issues from an Australian perspective. We like to think that we are developing into more than just a blog. Through our new Security Scholar Online Forum Series, our Security Scholar Synopsis series, and our frequent interaction with readers through social media – predominantly Facebook and our Twitter accounts, we hope to act as a broad-spectrum resource, facilitating engagement and discussion. In the future, we are aiming to expand our services by conducting more ground-level research in addition to secondary source analysis.

What motivated you both to blog about security and defence issues?

Nic: I’ve had a fascination with security and defence issues for as long as I can remember, and a strong writing background from my business experiences, but it was Nat that convinced me to publish some of my work in the public domain. Previously I had worked almost entirely on internal documents, analyses and reports, so it’s nice to be receiving feedback, and contributing to global debate.

Nat: I regularly enjoy debating with my friends and fellow scholars on such issues. Many of these friends blog as well. I wanted to delve into a forum where I could put my ideas out for scrutiny. The blog platform has a rather rewarding give/take quality; you provide information and discussion, and receive inspiration and feedback from around the globe.

You've also begun hosting monthly online forums. Could you tell us a bit about this project?

Nic: Our vision with the Security Scholar Online Forum Series is all about giving opportunities to experts, practitioners, serving soldiers, and scholars to discuss current defence and security issues. The format is designed to allow fairly casual, free-flowing engagement, which bridges the gap between various professions. With a very busy month (Nat is travelling overseas), we’ve had to delay our planned November forum, but we will be back up and running with our December forum on ‘China’s Maritime Denial Strategy’ – stay tuned!

Security Scholar regularly covers the war in Afghanistan in depth. Conversely, substantial coverage on the war in our mainstream media is usually lacking. Are blogs and online media able to fill the gap, in this respect?

Nic: Definitely. Particularly when it comes to covering topics from a different angle, or covering topics in a more academic or technical manner than is generally acceptable in mainstream media. Also, quite frankly, a lot of coverage we see in mainstream media sources is dumbed down, or at least highly abbreviated – blogs and other online media sources provide further reading for people who may be interested in a more complete picture of what is happening.  Many of our blogosphere colleagues over at such blogs as Registan, Wings Over Iraq, and Ghosts of Alexander provide excellent historical and operational knowledge on issues concerning how the Afghanistan conflict is managed.

Big news for Australian defence recently is that women are now able to serve in any position in the ADF, including combat roles. How much of a change can we expect to see, following this decision?

Nic: This is something Nat and I have obviously been discussing at length over since the announcement, and you can see some of Nat’s thoughts crystallised in her pieces on our blog, at the Lowy Interpreter, and The Conversation, as well as some personal remarks in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Personally, I think it is about time the barriers were removed – but how we manage this transition will be of the utmost importance.

Nat: In formal terms, the changes open up the last 7% or so of jobs to women serving in the ADF. That may not seem like much, but there will be need to be considerable adjustments to accommodate this. Of course, concerns about physical requirements will have to be carefully managed but, more importantly, cultural changes that overcome prejudices against the place and ability of women on the frontline need to be surmounted. This will certainly take more time and sustained commitment from both the ADF, and Australian society more broadly.

What do you see as some of the more significant security issues concerning Australia, now or into the future?

Nic: The so-called ‘rise of China’ is obviously the big one that everyone is talking about, but our relationship with the United States, and how that develops vis-à-vis China, is the real story there.

Speaking of which, what are your thoughts on the planned stationing of US troops in Darwin? How do you think Australia can balance its interests whilst maintaining close ties to both the United States and China?

Nic: Firstly, I just want to point out that there are no plans to construct or operate a solely-US military base anywhere in Australia. This is something a few commentators seem to have missed. The current plan is for US Marines to be based at an Australian Army base, Robertson Barracks, just outside of Darwin. The US and Australia have a long tradition of jointly operating military facilities.

That cleared up, I don’t see maintaining our strong alliance with the US and pursuing a robust trading relationship with China as incompatible or mutually exclusive goals. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see our relationship with the US continue to strengthen over the coming years, with more basing opportunities being considered. Areas to look to would be the Cocos Islands, and perhaps even the North West.

Nat: I think Australia will have to manage this development with regional partners, Indonesia, in particular. The base provides further opportunities for multinational exercises in the Asia Pacific. With respect to China, maintaining dialogue and engagement will be important in reassuring our most valuable economic partner that the development is not one of containment.

Finally, what do both of you work on, outside of Security Scholar?

Nic: Both of us are available as freelance consultants and technical editors for a range of topics. I run my own business focusing on consulting to the private security and defence industries, as well as writing on a freelance basis. I am currently looking at small arms identification in Libya, global counter-narcotics units, and West African piracy. Nat freelance writes and researches, and is currently working on research relating to people trafficking in Indonesia as well as counter terrorism cooperation between Australia and Indonesia. She is currently travelling throughout Indonesia to improve her Indonesian language skills and get a better ground-level understanding of the security and political situation throughout the archipelago.

Roselina Press is undertaking a Masters of International Relations at Melbourne University